Lonely Hearts
by Otoshigo
Summary: Ladybug has gone to the dark side and Chat Noir doesn't know why, but he knows he has to stop her. Meanwhile, he turns to a familiar face for comfort. [Marichat, ANGST]


A/N: Oof, this was hard. Inspired by the song "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak.

~o~

The city of Paris sparkled like starlight in the night, illuminating gothic stone and marble, while roads and monuments glowed like gold. A lone dark figure was nearly missed against the starless sky as he looked over his domain. Chat Noir kept silent, lonesome vigil on his home, on Paris. His face was cold and stoic, body tense as he crouched and watched. Once, he was a happy jokester, a punning goofball.

Then everything changed.

His green eyes caught the flash of red darting over the darkened rooftops. She was soon followed by a brightly colored shadow. An Akuma. Not being chased. No, not anymore. At once his heart broke, a pang of distress going through him.

 _Again. Ladybug, why?_ he thought, as his heart ached.

Nonetheless, he pushed himself up from his crouched position, taking out his silver baton. Ladybug might have forgotten her role, but he was still a superhero of Paris. Although he couldn't purify the akuma, he could still destroy the cursed item to disable it. Ladybug would be forced to purify it eventually. Her conscience hadn't completely shattered, after all. It gave him just a little bit of hope that his Lady was still in there somewhere.

For now though, he had a job to do.

~o~

" _CATACLYSM!"_

His voice was the death knell of the battle, his cursed hand crushing the microphone that Pop Starter held in her hands. The detransformed villain let out a shriek as she fell from the sky, but Chat was there to catch her in his arms. A little bit of his old charm came back to him, despite himself. "Careful there. Can't have you falling for me. I'm already taken," he smirked at the auburn haired teen.

His smile dropped when he heard the whizz of the yoyo behind him. Chat jumped away just in time, using the girl as a decoy in his place. He latched onto the side of a marble facade, keeping well out of Ladybug's path. This was the part that he hated.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug called up to him, once she disentangled the former supervillain from her weapon. Her face was fixed with harsh determination and a stubborn scowl. "You can't keep running forever! Just give up your Miraculous already!"

The superhero only pointed up to the dark butterfly fluttering above their heads. "You better take care of that before it replicates," he reminded her, before he tore off along the damaged streets as fast as he could. He was no match for her. All he could do was run. Sometimes she'd take off after him and he'd just escape by the skin of his teeth. Other times she was as exhausted by the farce as he was. This seemed to be one of those times as a warm red glow flew over the city and set crumbling stone and broken streets to rights.

Chat let out a breath of relief. He could relax. Just for a little while. He might even have enough time to do the one activity left that gave him any joy as Chat Noir. He'd have to run and hide for a little while, as he always did. Then he'd go to her.

~o~

Hours later, when Chat Noir was certain that Ladybug wasn't going to come after him, he came to a certain balcony above one of the best patisseries in Paris. The lights were on in the attic room, indicating his favorite girl's presence. Smiling, he dropped in on her rooftop and tapped on her hatch. Then he waited cross-legged on her patio chair, almost bobbing with excitement.

Eventually, Marinette came upstairs. His heart gave a small _thump_ as it always did when he looked into her bluebell eyes. He bounded to his feet, taking her hand in his and pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles. "Ah Prrincess, the vision of your lovely face does my heart wonders," he spoke, though he was never more sincere. Now more than ever, she was a balm to his soul.

A weary smile stretched across her lips, warm but strained. Her exhaustion worried him. "You look tired," he remarked as he guided her back to the patio to sit beside him. He pet her hair, wanting to fuss over his princess as any devoted knight should.

"A bit," she admitted, her arms loosely wrapping around his waist.

"Working on a project?" he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She didn't mind. She liked his little gestures of affection.

"You could say that." Marinette shook her head. "I don't really feel like talking about it. I'd rather just sit here with you."

A warmth spread through him at her words. He smiled, pressing another doting kiss to her cheek. He truly loved this girl. Though he never expected things to turn out this way. When everything went sideways, he'd happened upon her balcony when he was aching and lonely. That night, he found her sobbing on her balcony, feeling just as lonely. And she looked so much like his Lady.

Unable to tear himself away, he came to her and wrapped her up into an embrace until she cried herself out. Afterward, he kept coming back, to make sure that she was alright. A tiny part of him worried that he might just be using her as a replacement for Ladybug. Then he found out Marinette was amazing in her own right, and so warm and soft and caring.

He couldn't help but fall.

"That's fine," he answered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "There's nowhere I'd rather be." So they sat together in warm companionship, watching as the dark sky began to lighten to pink, tangerine, and violet.

However, at cock crow, he really had to go. He'd stayed far longer than he intended, but it was a trial to tear himself away. His dearest love also didn't help matters.

"No stay," Marinette pleaded, holding fast onto Chat's waist. "Just a little longer? Please?"

"Prrincess, I can't," he whispered, cupping her face in his hands. "I have to go home. Much as I want to, I can't stay with you forever." Smiling, he said, "I'll come back, I promise."

"I know," she whispered, her grip on him finally easing. "You always do."

With permission to leave, Chat jumped up to his feet. But not before he stole a breathless kiss from her lips. "One for the road," he winked, grinning as Marinette broke into a bright blush. As the sun threatened to break, he gave her a two-finger salute and hopped down from the balcony, disappearing from view.

Marinette bolted after him, looking down to the empty street lit by sunlight. No sign of him. He had vanished. Her throat tightened with a sob, her hand clutching the rail. She sank down to her knees, her shoulders trembling as her whole body wracked with tears.

~o~

"You saw him again, didn't you?"

She and Alya walked together along a winding path set in a perfectly tended green lawn. The sunlight lit it up into a bright, bright green, reminding Marinette of _his_ eyes. Marinette looked over to her very best friend, her own eyes red from her sleepless night and her tears. She nodded slowly.

Alya gave her a pitying look. "When are you going to tell him?"

"I... I _can't,"_ Marinette whispered, looking away. "I don't want to lose him."

"Mari..." her friend whispered, as they stopped in a familiar spot in the gardens. Alya gently touched her arm. "He's already gone."

Marinette looked down to the marble headstone in front of them. Her hands trembled as she laid down a bouquet of red roses underneath his name. A name that she still couldn't read without breaking into tears. Even now, her heart denied them.

Her fingers traced over the etched letters, her blurring eyes burning with determination.

 _Chat. Adrien. I'll save you,_ she swore. _I'll get you back. I promise._

 _No matter what it takes._


End file.
